We 'must act': Europe retaliates against Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports

The European Union has reacted swiftly to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that came into effect Wednesday, retaliating with its own punitive countermeasures that it said were needed to protect consumers and businesses.

The White House confirmed the duties — which will affect Canada, Australia, the EU and others — late Tuesday, but said that Trump no longer planned to raise tariffs on the metals from Canada to 50%.

The EU responded swiftly, saying it would impose counter-tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28.33 billion) worth of U.S. goods starting in April.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday told reporters that the EU "must act to protect businesses and consumers."

"We deeply regret this measure [by the U.S.]. Tariffs are taxes, they are bad for business and worse for consumers, they are disrupting supply chains, they bring uncertainty for the economy, jobs are at stake, prices are up and nobody needs that, neither side needs that," she said during a news conference.

Trade ties between the U.S. and EU "are the biggest in the world," von der Leyen said, and the relationship had brought "prosperity and security to millions of people" as well as job creation on both sides of the Atlantic, she noted.

The EU's two-pronged approach will see previously suspended tariffs reimposed on 8 billion euros of U.S. exports, and a slew of new countermeasures on 18 billion euros of goods in a move von der Leyen had earlier described as "strong but proportionate."

"We will always remain open to negotiation," she added in a statement.

The EU said the tariffs will affect up to 26 billion euros worth of the bloc's exports to the U.S. They apply to industrial-grade steel and aluminum,